All my life, people have decided what I am capable of and what I am good at. For a brief period, I let them do that to me. But one day I decided that I must do something to prove all these naysayers wrong. It took immense courage and hard work for me to finally get into a good b-school. Four days into the business school I realized that CAT prep is just one part of the story. The next two years will be a different ball game altogether.
There are so many things that come across our mind initially. There are dreams to pursue, ideas to take shape, lots of new things to learn, understand and imbibe. Then there are the uncertainties that refuse to leave our minds - grades to achieve, specialization to choose, job role and placements. But slowly the idea of doing an MBA and the challenges that come with it will sink in. One thing that will help is enjoying the program by taking one day at a time rather than worrying if you can sail through.
Now comes the interesting part of every MBA, the b-school life. Well, it’s not like I want to paint a rosy picture, but the idea of being part of a 170 strong batch of divergent and unique minds from all over the country is truly overwhelming. I already started learning Tamil from one of my friends. I asked a guy from the northeast why Momos are famous in their part of the country. I spoke to a girl from up north who is a great fan of Allu Arjun. In the canteen, we discuss the famous foods from each of our own states. Going further maybe someone from Mumbai can tell me why Dharavi is more famous than Bandra. Maybe someone from Kolkata will tell me why ‘A’ is pronounced as ‘O’. what can you share with/tell people about your state/language/culture? All these things will tell you that there is so much more than just classroom education to an MBA program. it’s a journey with people from different cultures and traditions that prepares us for the wide and diverse world outside.
We all know that every b school will have a hectic schedule, tight deadlines for assignments, hundreds of case studies and the list goes on. Time management will be so important, we will hardly find the time to sleep. At least this was what I expected before joining. But the first four days of my induction program helped me learn a lot more, and included a thought-provoking “you can” session, workshops on gender sensitization and prevention of sexual harassment, design thinking and meditation. It shows what kind of values and skills a b-school wants to imbibe in its students. I would suggest that all of you take things in with an open mind and enjoy the process.
Wishing you all the best for future endeavours!
Bhavith Sunkara
1st Year MBA student at IFMR GSB Krea University